Improvement in cotton-harvesters



LaF. K; MILLER.

Cotton-Harvester.-

Patented Jan 26; 18-75.;

WITNESSES: I l

INVENTOI:

Jam

ATTORNEYS;

- UNITED STATES PATENT O LA FAYETTE K. MILLER, or AUsT nTEXAs.

I IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-HARVESTE'R-S.

Specification forming'part of Letters Patent No. 159.] 09, dated January 26,1875; application fill .i

' August 10, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

ot: Austin, in the county of Travis'jaiid State ot Texas, have nvented a new and Improved Machine for Picking Oottomof whichthfi.fOl'

-lowing' is a specification My invention consists in the employment ofa system of revolvingor whirling rods,a

.a large number so arranged as tobe contin-u ally going down into and emerging from-the cotton-branches while in a vertical position,

' and while they are whirling rapidly each one a'npon its own longitudinalaxis. The whirling motion of the rods causes the fibers of the cotton, as soon as they come in contact with e the rods, to take hold of said rods or pickers, wind round them, and remain attached till stripped ofi by elasps or strippers that'slide down the rods. after they come up from among the branches-of cotton-stalks,.and

scrape the cotton into a receiver below. This entrance and exit of the pickers may be re-' peated one or more times before they return to the forward part of machineto go down again. The pickers cease to whirl or spin reund-beiorereaching the cotton-box, where the-strippers begin The pickers, which, by reason'of their whirling in'otiom-take hold of and draw the 'cotton from the boll, are caused-to turn by friction against broad bands that pass across the frame of machine. These bands are corrugated, so as to increase the friction against the flanges or pinions on the pickers. The bands are broad enough to act on the pickers and turn them during their descent from the top to bottom of cotton-stalks, say three and one halffeet. They travel with a speed rapid enough to give the pickers sufiicient velocity to insure their attachment to all the'otton' .are'supported at their. upper or base ends,

wherethey have two journals, between which the toothed-.gflanges-or frictiou-pinions are placed, which pinions impart to the pickers to remove the cottom I I their whirling motion by impinging against Be it known that l,-LA FAYETTE KQMILLER, v

readily and'the more certainlytake hold of the cotton. The strippers? are euii's or clasps that fit around the pickers loosely enough to slide upon them easily. The strip pers work in two grooves, one on each side of the pickers, by which provision the cotton is the more easily removed, and never becomes wedged, but is alleasily scraped off. The stripperspass the points of the pickers to insure the removalof the cotton.- ,The strippers are kept up to base of pickers by spriugarrangcment, except when acted on Presser .lcters or In passing cotton box: bars are arranged onjeach side of'i'rame, arranged? andconnected so as to throw the strippers to points of Pickers one or more times while passing receiver. lhese levers are to work rapidly and with long strokes, causing two or three strippiugs to take place while they, the pickers, are passing overv cotton-box. There are two main -or carrying bands that support and carry round the congeri'es of pickers. They work on rollers that, are driven by the revolution of wagon-wheels.- -Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved cotton-picking machine, with some portions of the box removed to show the-working apparatus more clearly. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation takenon the line :r in, and looking in the direction of arrow 1; and Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the running-gear, looking in the direction of arrow 2. x j I Similar lettersof reference indicate corresponding parts. A representsa couple ,of endless carryingbelts, arranged to run forward and backward and u'p'ariddown in a wagon-box, B, by the band, H, "from "one' of wagon wheels.

Q cause the bands to 10 The belts or bands A carry the pickers, which consist of a long spindle, I, suspended from a cross-bar, J pivoted at each end to one of the bands, so that the spindles hang between the bands to enter the eotto brush point downward as they pass down the inclines from G to.

and l) to E; also so that they will withdraw in the same manner as they ascend from'C to" D, and E to F. At the upper end the pickers have a toothed pinion or serrated disk, K, by which they are ,to be revolved by the broad endless cross-bands N as they descend and ascend the inclines, the said pinionsbeing caused to bear against the bands, and the bands being revolved by one of their drums,

M, gearing with the drum ,0 or E. These wide bands are designed to keep the pickers revolving all the time they are passing down into and rising up out of the cotton, and are ihcreibre arranged on drums which are parallel to the inclines along which the pickers pass, and being so the drums are provided with a. spiral thread contrived to work the minds upward about the same amount as they iced to work downward on the drums, thus hut-ping them in working position. The pick- L'lr are caused to revolve on the axis of their cross-bar J at the moment of passing over roller U, so as to .point downward into the cotton by a stationary earn, 0, against which a little bent arm, I, on thecros's-bar comes, and they are again adjusted-into the right position to pass downward from pulleys 1) by another star'ting-cam,-Q. R represents the strippers for stripping oil the cotton from the pickers, which gather it (from the brush by winding the fibers on them as they descend and rise out of thebrnsh, while revolving as above described. These strippers consist of a little blade or plate on opposite sides of the picker-spindles, the plates being fitted in a groove to turn with the spindles, and attached to a short tube, S,Whl($h slides up and down on the spindle, and is swiveled to the carrier T,

which is forced down at the proper time to pushing the strippers down by levers U, sai levers being worked by acrank, V, and arms W. The bars']. are pulled back by a spring, Y. Xrepresents a receptacle, into which the cotton will fall when stripped from the pickers while they are passing up from C to D. Another receptacle will be provided forreceiving the cotton stripped off, while the pickers are passing from Etc F, and levers will be suitably arranged for Working the strippers thereat. Instead of using two or more oi the broad transverse bands for revolving the spindles, one single long'band maybe run upon suitable guiderollers, so as to take the place of the short ones.

Having thus described my invention, I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, in a cotton-harvester,

of rotary or whirling pickers I and a carrier, A, substantially as herein described, for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, in a cotton-harvester,

of an endless cross-belt, N, and traveling revolving or whirling pickers I, provided with pinions or serrated disks K, substantially as herein described.

,3. The combination of pickers I, pivoted,

supporting-bar J, endless'earriers A, and stationary cams'O Q, substantially as specified.

4. The strippers R,tnbc S, stripping-bar '1, and levers U, combined with the pickers, substantially as specified.

5. The strippers arranged in grooves in the revolving pichers, and the tube S, sw-iveled to the stripping-bar, substantially as specified.

6. The inclined drums M for endless belts L, having a spiral rib for keeping up the said belts, substantially as specified.

LAFAYETTE KOHLER MILLER.

Witnesses:

JAMES SMirn, Jon A. COSTA. 

